Brilliant flashes of scarlet punctuated the misty redwood glen last Friday as the third drama in this season’s Shakespeare Santa Cruz opened to a rapt full house. The first of the three central histories tracing the rise of royal rogues, Henry IV, Part I reverberates with one part kingly remorse, another part power grab and a third part Sir John Falstaff. In this masterpiece of language and intrigue, Shakespeare interwove the imagined back story behind the takeover of the English throne by Henry Bolingbroke and the tale of ribald Falstaff, the carousing buddy of the king’s son, Prince Hal. One of the best-known and best-loved characters in the canon, Falstaff is a larger-than-life lout whose hard-drinking lifestyle has lowered the standing of the Prince of Wales in the eyes of his father. Bolingbroke (played with much bluster by V. Craig Heidenreich)—whose crown was purchased by the murder of the honorable Richard II—wishes that his son would reject the wastrel Falstaff and act like a proper royal. In other words, he wishes Hal (Erik Heger) were more like the Earl of Northumberland’s son, young Harry “Hotspur” Percy (J. Todd Adams), who is the image of a courageous, royal soldier.
Northumberland (Phil Hubbard) and his kinsmen, including Westmoreland (Jeff Mills), were chosen by the late King Richard II to succeed the throne. But Bolingbroke had other plans, and has passed over the legitimate heirs in favor of his own son, the temporarily dissolute Hal. Determined to regain what is rightfully theirs, Northumberland and his allies have made common cause with Glendower, a powerful Welsh chieftain who brings men and loquacious magic to the bid to win back lands and prestige.
If this all sounds complicated, it rang clearly and powerfully in the new production of the play that launched the SSC career of a young Paul Whitworth, who played a wild punk rocker Hal in 1984. The company is bracingly directed by Scott Wentworth, and the action storms across the simple yet effective set (also used in Three Musketeers) in seamless fashion, with B. Modern’s understated costumes of black leather punctuated with splendid flourishes of scarlet and gold.
Betting that modern audiences aren’t up on their early renaissance history, Wentworth’s production begins with a brief prologue, in which we are reminded of the steps leading up to this play’s actual opening: Bolingbroke learns that civil war is brewing, and the audacious Hotspur —”Mars in swaddling clothes”—has just defeated an invasion of Scots. Moving briskly, the play’s rhythms are largely determined by some pivotal casting decisions. It will come as no surprise to audiences who remember J. Todd Adams’ astonishing turn as Puck in 2009’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream that he climbs into his character’s unrestrained passion and never lets go. His Hotspur is an impatient hothead relentless in his lust for combat. So adroit is Adams, in physical grace and gusto as well as verbal intelligence, that he commands the stage with his every speech and gesture. It’s impossible to tire of watching this disarming and subtle actor swoop, cajole and thunder both in his monumental tirades as well as measured, nuanced asides. He’s reason enough to see this Henry more than once.
Every bit his match in verbal cunning and eloquent sight gags is Richard Ziman’s Falstaff, who makes witty, crystalline mincemeat out of some of Shakespeare’s smartest ripostes. So fine is this entire company, especially in the tightly-choreographed ensemble scenes, that it’s difficult to remember that we are watching actors, describing the woes and deceits of five centuries ago and 3,000 miles away. I would have enjoyed a more nimble Hal to match Adams’ insolent Hotspur, but the opening night’s audience was glued to Ziman’s Falstaff, an irresistible organization of wit, joie de vivre and corpulence. Kudos as well to the bawdy slatterns of Cheapside, who offered a few memorable moments of Shakespearean rag, and to the haunting vocal work of Sepideh Moafi as the Welsh Lady Mortimer.
HENRY IV PART 1
Through Aug. 28
Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen, UCSC
Tickets $14-50 at www.shakespearesantacruz.com or 831.459.2159.
